The Montgomery County History Digital Repository
The Montgomery County History Digital Repository (MCHDR) collects, preserves and distributes digital material of and about Montgomery County, Maryland, USA.
This repository is a service of Montgomery History whose mission is to collect, preserve, interpret and share the histories of all of Montgomery County’s residents.
Recent Submissions
Item Record of Slaves in Montgomery County at the Time of the Adoption of the Constitution in 1864(1867)This report of the Commissioner of Slave Statistics was taken in 1867-1868 in Montgomery County, Maryland, based on the state of enslavement as of emancipation in 1864. The commissioner who compiled the information for Montgomery County was George Patterson. The list of enslavers documented in the original ledgerbook are not in any discernable order, and were probably documented in the order they were received. Information given about the formerly enslaved includes full names and ages -- the majority of surnames ARE included, though some applicant enslavers did not provide them. Other details such as military service or mental competency are occasionally included. This report has been transcribed in various forms; a new transcription in sortable form with corrections, additions, cross-references to other sources is in process and will be available here soon. The original scans from microfilm are provided here for reference.Item Excerpt: The Public Schools of Montgomery County, Maryland(The Brookings Institution, 1939-08)This collection contains excerpts of a report titled "The Public Schools of Montgomery County, Maryland" by David Spence Hill, for the Brookings Institution, August 1939. This report constitutes background research for the official Brookings Report on Montgomery County's Government published in 1941. Provided here are the sections reporting on the segregated Black schools of the county in the late 1930s, including population assessments, existing social and physical infrastructure, enrollment numbers, and reports on the 25 individual elementary schools and one high school provided by the county for Black children that include condition of the facilities, faculty, janitorial service provided, and recommendations for improvements. Also included is a very thorough reporting of other aspects of the Black residents' lives during this period, such as professions, education levels, migration trends, etc.Item 1860 U.S. Federal Census for Montgomery County, Maryland: Schedule 2 (Slave Inhabitants)(1860)Listing of enslaved people enumerated in the 1860 federal census. Enslaved individuals noted by age and gender only. Some noted as fugitive. Listed by enslavers, sorted by District. Surnames of enslavers not in alphabetical order. Other information included: number of slave houses provided by enslaver. The original handwritten census schedule pages are provided; also included is a transcription of the original list with notes and corrections, in original order, but also indexed alphabetically. See notes at the beginning of the transcription for more information. To assist in transcribing the names, the following previous transcriptions were consulted and discrepancies were noted: Hurley, W. N. (1998). Montgomery County, Maryland 1860 census. Heritage Books, Bowie, MD. Sween, Jane. 1989 [1868]. Record of Slaves in Montgomery County, Maryland at the Time of the Adoption of the Constitution in 1864 [transcription]Item The Negro Agriculturalist: a Journal for the Farm (1909)(Maryland Normal and Agricultural Institute, 1909)Published by the faculty of the Maryland Normal and Agricultural Institute in Sandy Spring, Maryland: George H.C. Williams, principal. Content includes news from the community, advertisements for local businesses and events, and articles on horticulture. The single PDF includes Volume 1, Number 1 (February 1909) and Volume 1, Numbers 7-8 (August and September 1909)Item Montgomery County Board of County Commissioners: Assessment Records, Slaves (1853-1864)(Maryland State Archives, 1853)Record of property appraisals for tax purposes. Entries include enslaver’s name, as well as the enslaved people they are being taxed for. Enslaved people are identified by first name only, sorted into age ranges by gender, with specific ages also included. Residents are separated into five districts at this time: District 1 (Cracklin), District 2 (Clarksburg), District 3 (Medley), District 4 (Rockville), District 5 (Berry). Each PDF with a date range is arranged first by District, then by Owner’s Surname; handwritten. Often extra entries for each district are added at the end, making the alphabetical order inconsistent. Notes: 1853 and 1855 appear to be more complete listings of taxed enslaved property (as far as can be determined); however, no year seems to be a comprehensive listing , so absence of any owner does not necessarily imply lack of ownership during that year 1853 is represented twice (version 1 and version 2), but the two versions do not appear to be identical. Both lists should be consulted. The 1856-1860 lists are partial for each district and may represent “changes” to previous tax listings only. The scans can be difficult to read and in some cases either overlit or very dark (particularly at the edges of the pages); all flaws in the images are inherent from the microfilm.
Communities in MCHDR
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